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Armed forces resettlement training, retraining courses and recruitment / jobs for ex military personnel. The Royal Navy, Army and RAF
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Overview
Skills analysis reveals a significant shortage in managerial positions. Although the highest skills requirement is currently for workers with wood trade skills, there is also demand for managers, clerical staff, architects, engineers, and other design and technical professionals. A major concern is the lack of young entrants into an ageing workforce. According to ConstructionSkills (the Sector Skills Council for the construction industry) an average of 50,000 construction workers will be required a year over the next four years, allowing for replacement as well as new jobs, in line with workforce turnover (however, most of this increase will take place from 2011 onwards, as output begins to grow again). Construction growth is expected to shift from the north to the south and east. Building trades skills gained in the Services Apart from a handful of people employed in units to carry out minor carpentry and repair jobs, and Army pioneers who have basic building skills, all three Services rely on the Royal Engineers for construction. Non-commissioned ranks will have completed anything from NVQs at level 2 in basic training and level 3 after higher training, to an apprenticeship. Trades vary from surveyor to plant operator, and from draughtsman to bricklayer. A brief overview of craft careers Craftsmen and women are the people who actually make things. Some major skills in which they are trained include:
We will look at each of these in turn. Gas installation and maintenance Energy & Utility Skills has developed a set of occupational standards and qualifications at levels 1 to 4. The objective is that the resulting qualifications will be as common as possible across industries to enable workers freedom of employment in the entire sector. Anyone working on gas appliances or fittings as a business must be competent and registered with the Gas Safe Register (GSR), which has replaced the old CORGI Register. Competency can continue to be proven under the accredited certification scheme (ACS) through a distance learning programme. ACS has a two-day core domestic gas safety assessment and a number of appliance assessments that take half a day each. A competent student should take five days to pass the full domestic suite of qualifications.
Training Many of the trades discussed above are learned on the job, but the construction industry has training schemes that combine working and education to produce qualifications that the individual can build up over time to develop expertise in a particular area. While one person might start by learning the basics of a trade, and go on to become an expert in a particular part of it, another might build a portfolio in a number of skills to qualify them for supervisory and then general management. ConstructionSkills’ National Construction College is a network of colleges training and assessing construction skills throughout the UK. It is increasingly becoming necessary to hold registration or certification of competence and/or training in particular aspects of building skills to obtain employment in the industry.
The industry has its own vocational qualifications, apprenticeships and advanced apprenticeships, and a construction apprentice scheme for the younger entrant. Ambitious people can start by gaining vocational qualifications in any of these trades while working as a craftsman or woman, develop their skills through technical training, perhaps gaining certificates or diplomas, eventually becoming fully professionally qualified, with a degree.
 
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